Starting this year, Russian embassies in the UK, Denmark, Myanmar and Namibia will launch a pilot project requiring applicants for a Russian visa to be fingerprinted. Source: Anton Denisov / RIA Novosti

The Russian Foreign Ministry
has announced two important changes to visa procedures, that will make entering
Russia more difficult for citizens of some countries. According to Yevgeny
Ivanov, head of the consular department of the Russian Foreign Ministry, these
changes do not signify a tightening of the visa rules but are part of the
modernization of visa procedures.

Starting this year, Russian
embassies in the UK, Denmark, Myanmar and Namibia will launch a pilot project requiring
applicants for a Russian visa to be fingerprinted.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has already
drafted a presidential decree on collecting biometric personal data, based on
procedures in several other countries. Collection of biometric data as part of
the visa application process is widely used by the consular services of many
countries, including the United States and the UK. The EU has announced plans to
do the same for Russian nationals starting from 2015.

In addition to collecting
fingerprints as part of the visa application process, fingerprints
will be scanned at border control at Moscow's Vnukovo airport.

Ivanov, said that the project is aimed
primarily at improving visa integrity as part of combating illegal immigration
and terrorism

The UK will become the first country where
applicants for a Russian visa will be fingerprinted, possibly as early as July
1. Denmark will be next. These two countries have been chosen for a reason: the
pilot is expected to test coordination and interaction in fingerprinting
collection between the Russian diplomatic missions and the visa centers
operating there.

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"It is expected that biometric data will be collected
mainly at the visa centers, which would make it possible to avoid long queues
at the Russian diplomatic missions where, as you know, people come not only to
get a visa but to resolve many other issues as well," Ivanov said.

Myanmar and Namibia have been selected because
they are countries where the number of applications for a Russian visa is
relatively small. "There it will be first of all necessary to test the
viability of the new system given how remote our diplomatic missions in those
countries are, how reliable the equipment and communications are," Ivanov
added.

The completion date for the pilot project
has not yet been set. However, once it is over, the relevant amendments will be
introduced to the current legislation, after which the Russian authorities will
roll out the new procedure at all embassies and consulates. "We do not
view fingerprinting as a sign of Russia introducing tougher visa requirements,
rather it is part of the modernization of the whole process,” Ivanov said.

Additionally, following instructions from Russian
President Vladimir Putin, preparations are under way to introduce a new
procedure requiring passports for citizens of CIS member states to enter
Russia, although the new rules will not apply to Belarus and Kazakhstan, which
form part of the Customs Union and the Single Economic Space.

"Given the large amount of reciprocal
travel, especially in the cross-border areas, consultations are under way with
the Ukrainian side to agree on how to minimize the possible inconvenience that
the new rules may cause to the citizens of both countries," Ivanov added.